The fruits and flowers of the black elderberry are rich in vitamins, extremely aromatic, low in acid and not so sweet. What could be better than boiling them down after picking and collecting them? We have a few delicious recipes ready.
What is the best way to preserve elderberry?
The best way to preserve elderberry is to use ripe berries to make jam or aromatic flowers as a refreshing syrup. Cook the berries with preserving sugar, add lemon and blackcurrant liqueur. Place the flowers in boiled sugar water and let them steep, then strain and bring to the boil.
Cooking elderberries perfectly into jam
If the summer wasn't too dry, the elderberry in the garden produces a lush fruit display. After you have harvested the ripe berries, they should be processed immediately. Find out how they turn into a delicious jam here:
- strip the cleaned elderberries from the cones with a fork
- put 1 kilo of fruit in a pot
- add 1 kilo of preserving sugar on top
- cook, stirring constantly, until a creamy mixture forms
- flavor with the juice of a lemon and 4 tablespoons of blackcurrant liqueur
The boiling hot jam is poured into ready-made screw-top jars. Close them immediately and turn them upside down to cool.
Refreshing syrup with elderflowers
When the black elderberry wears its white blossoms from June onwards, you have a he althy and delicious ingredient for versatile syrup at your disposal. The following lines show how it works:
- Do not rinse the flower umbels under running water, but instead swish them in cold water
- cut the stems of 20 flowers with sharp scissors (€14.00 on Amazon)
- Boil 1 kilo of sugar in 1 liter of water until completely dissolved
- place the flowers in a heat-proof container and pour the hot sugar water over them
- close the container and store it in the cellar for 4-5 days
In the last step, strain the liquid through a sieve lined with kitchen paper. The syrup is boiled again in the pot and immediately poured into bottles with screw caps. A dash of citric acid gives the elderflower syrup the finishing touch.
Tips & Tricks
Would you like to preserve elderberries and flowers that you collected in the wild? Then caution is advised. The toxic fruits of the dwarf elderberry, for example, look very similar to the fruits of the edible black elderberry. A poisonous elderberry is unmistakably revealed by its repulsive smell. So – first sniff, then harvest.
